Faster than a transporter beam, the age of the robots is upon us at airports and hotels all over the world
The coming year is likely to be one of profound changes in travel technology. Cryptocurrencies, blockchain, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, machine learning are just a few of the promising developments that are already grabbing headlines.
But let’s not overlook the technologies that are already among us providing benefits for travelers. Among the highest profile contributors to the world of travel, robots – both virtual and real – have become increasingly common since their introduction just a few years ago. From hotels to airports, from travel booking sites to behind the scenes, here’s a look at the ways robots are changing travel.
Geneva Airport In October 2016, SITA Labs – the technology research arm of IT firm SITA – toured its autonomous, self-propelled baggage robot in Singapore and Hong Kong. Named Leo after the famed Renaissance-era inventor Leonardo Da Vinci, the automaton is designed to check in luggage, print baggage tags and transport two suitcases at a time.
This year, SITA Labs unveiled KATE, an intelligent check-in kiosk that can move autonomously – and in teams – to busy or congested areas in airports to help passenger flow during the check-in process. The kiosks are being deployed at Geneva Airport.
KATE the kiosk can monitor a variety of data sources, including flight and passenger flow information, sense when and where additional check-in kiosks are needed and, using geo-location and obstacle avoidance technology, move through the airport without bumping into things or people.
The robotic kiosks are also designed to automatically return to their docking stations when they are low on power or if they need a fresh supply of boarding passes or bag tags.
Movable kiosks could not only help airports and airlines better serve passengers when re-booking is necessary due to flight cancellations or weather delays, but they might also be put on duty in offsite locations, such as train stations, convention halls and, possibly, cruise ports.
Meanwhile, in February 2016, Japan Airlines began testing a new android guide at Tokyo Haneda International Airport, offering travelers flight information such as schedules, destination and weather updates. Known as Nao, the robot features voice-recognition software and is able to communicate in Japanese, Chinese and English.
Air New ZealandRobots were also introduced to passengers aboard Air New Zealand last summer. As part of exploring futuristic technology, the airline placed a social robot at Sydney airport to help passengers check in and board. The experiment lasted five days, as part of collaboration with Commbank and used the company’s Chip Candrioid social Humanoid robot.
KLM Some of travel’s smartest machines exist only in cyber space. One such is KLM’s new virtual bot. The airline released an artificial intelligence messenger bot enabling customers to book tickets “in a conversational way.” The Dutch carrier describes the self-learning AI BlueBot service (BB for short) as “helpful, friendly, professional and edgy.” There are 250 human service colleagues who can take over to support BB when the bot is stumped by queries from passengers. KLM aims to expand BB’s skills to offer more services, and for it to be compatible with different digital channels including voice.
Eva Air Eva Air unveiled two interactive robots called Pepper last year. The robots were placed at Taipei’s International airport, one by the check-in desks and another in the reception area of the carriers airport lounge. They are interactive with passengers by scanning their boarding passes. They can also provide travelers with departure details, destination weather updates and Duty Free special offers, as well as play games, shake hands, dance and pose for selfies.
Mandarin Oriental Meanwhile, the newly opened Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas has also added Pepper to its service team. The four-foot tall humanoid robot is able to detect guests’ gender, age and even mood while also reading facial, body and vocal cues in order to communicate with guests. The hotel is primarily placing Pepper at its 23rd floor Sky Lobby with the main function to provide guests with directions and answers to property-specific questions – however it can also dance and pose for selfies.
Crowne Plaza One of the earliest adopters of hotel delivery robot was InterContinental Hotels Group Crowne Plaza San Jose-Silicon Valley hotel. The robot, named Dash, was created by Savioke, a Santa Clara, CA-based company that specializes in robot solutions for the hospitality industry.
Dash is about 3 feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds. The machine travels at a human walking pace and can independently navigate between floors, even calling the hotel elevator using a special WiFi connection. When Dash delivers the requested amenities, it phones the guest to announce its arrival, delivers the items and makes its way back to the front desk where it can dock itself into its own charging station.
Aloft Robots introduced at Aloft Silicon Valley are used as butlers. At the brand’s Silicon Valley and Cupertino properties the “Botlrs” work around the clock to deliver guests towels, newspapers, toiletries and bottles of water. They can use lifts without help, and when they arrive outside your room they automatically call your phone. They only accept tweets as tips and can pose for selfies.
Dorsett HotelsIn September the Dorsett Shanghai introduced V Jr, a robot that offers guests information on the hotel’s facilities and local attractions. Through the two robots, guests can use either voice or touch-screen input to get details of the hotel and nearby dining, shopping and exercise options.
M Social Launched back in February this year, M Social Singapore’s Aura is another Savioke-developed robot that similarly acts as a butler for guests, specifically with the delivery of water bottles, fresh towels, toiletries and room service. Interaction with Aura is done via a tablet and the robot is able to use elevators independently. Once deliveries are made, it returns to its docking station to recharge while awaiting the next call.
Meanwhile at its restaurant, the hotel has also brought in a robotic arm that can prepare eggs on demand cooked to the guest’s order – a choice of either scrambled, sunny-side up or as an omelet.
These are just a handful of the places where your travelers are bound to run into robots during their journeys. And life on the road will never be the same again.
SHORT STORIES
Travelport Reaches NDC Level 3, Announces Online PCI DSSWith fraud and hacking in the travel industry on the rise, Travelport, the travel commerce platform, has launched an online PCI DSS (payment card industry data security standard) compliance referral service to help its customers achieve PCI DSS certification.
According to Travelport, beginning in March any IATA agent that accepts card transactions against its own merchant agreement or issues Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) card transactions is required to provide proof of PCI DSS compliance to IATA. Travelport has partnered with Security Metrics, a provider in data security and compliance, in launching the new program.
In other news, Travelport has announced its certification by IATA as a Level 3 aggregator under the New Distribution Capability initiative. Travelport says it is the first GDS travel commerce platform to acquire this status and will work with airline technology specialist Farelogix to implement the first such NDC connections with a global airline. Details will be announced soon.
Amadeus and HRS Integrate ProgramsAmadeus and HRS Global Hotel Solutions have announced the integration of HRS’ Meetago small meeting solution with the Amadeus cost control tool cytric Travel & Expense. The collaboration is an extension of a longstanding partnership to distribute the HRS hotel content already available in the Amadeus distribution channel.
Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense users can now channel small meetings and the associated travel through one tool, helping consolidate meeting and travel programs. Employees can also organize a small meeting at one of HRS’ hotels directly through Amadeus cytric Travel & Expense. The solution simplifies the process by allowing the organizer to prepare one RFP detailing the number of attendees, accommodation requirements, and the necessary meeting room and add-ons, sending it to multiple hotels.
Concur and EY Offer Tax and Immigration ToolFinancial services company EY and Concur have teamed to offer a solution for clients that helps global business travelers manage tax and immigration compliance risks via the Concur App Center. The collaboration is an extension of the existing strategic alliance between the two companies. According to the two companies, the new end-to-end business travel solution provides real-time immigration and tax assessments to business travelers. The integrated offering captures relevant travel and business activity data within Concur. Using EY tax and immigration technology, the integration analyzes the data to make a real-time assessment of business travelers’ tax and immigration obligations before they travel.Concur and EY Offer Tax and Immigration ToolFinancial services company EY and Concur have teamed to offer a solution for clients that helps global business travelers manage tax and immigration compliance risks via the Concur App Center. The collaboration is an extension of the existing strategic alliance between the two companies.
According to the two companies, the new end-to-end business travel solution provides real-time immigration and tax assessments to business travelers. The integrated offering captures relevant travel and business activity data within Concur. Using EY tax and immigration technology, the integration analyzes the data to make a real-time assessment of business travelers’ tax and immigration obligations before they travel.
American Tightens Rules on ‘Smart Bags’Passengers with battery-powered “smart” luggage must be able to remove the battery to bring the bag on an American Airlines flight beginning Jan. 15. The airline said the policy was due to concerns about the hazards of placing lithium-ion battery power banks in the cargo hold of aircraft. Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines have rolled out similar rules, while United Airlines and Southwest Airlines say they are reviewing the issue.
The battery-equipped smart bags have a wide range of features, including the ability to charge phones and GPS tracking. Carriers which have instituted the policy say they will require customers to remove batteries from any smart bag they check and pack the batteries in a carry-on, in the same way passengers must carry spare batteries for other electronics in the cabin where crew members can more easily identify an overheating device and quickly respond to a fire. Passengers can leave batteries installed in carry-on smart bags but must still be able to remove them in case the bag needs to be checked at the gate or on a later flight.
Select Canadian Ports of Entry Now Feature RFID TechnologyThe Canada Border Services Agency has announced that radio frequency identification technology, or RFID, is now fully operational at select land ports of entry across Canada. RFID allows the wireless, non-contact transfer of data, so RFID-enabled travel documents including NEXUS/FAST cards, can be read and displayed from a distance. Travelers carrying these RFID-enabled documents will have their RFID tag numbers read remotely as their vehicle approaches the primary inspection booth.
The ports of entry include the Douglas, Pacific Highway and Aldergrove border crossings in British Columbia, the Emerson crossing in Manitoba, and in Ontario, border crossings at Windsor, Lansdowne, Fort Erie and Niagara.
Hilton Unveils The Connected RoomHilton has introduced the Connected Room, a high-tech guest room that enables guests to personalize and control their stays from their own mobile devices. Currently in beta testing, Connected Room is live in one hotel and will begin to scale rapidly to Hilton properties across the US in 2018. Guests who stay at Connected Room-enabled properties will be able to use the Hilton Honors app to manage most things they would traditionally do manually in a room, including controlling the temperature, the lighting, television and window coverings.
Guests will also be able to personalize their rooms with technology that loads streaming media and other accounts to in-room TVs. In the longer term, Connected Room technology will support a range of connected devices, engagements and experiences.
Amazon Introduces Alexa for BusinessAmazon has introduced Alexa for Business, a set of tools for using the Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant at work. Alexa for Business will be able to place meeting calls with Cisco, Polycom, Zoom, and other communication companies that can respond when you say “Alexa, join my meeting.” The platform will also include Salesforce to answer questions about business performance, Concur to share business travel itinerary information, RingCentral for voicemail readings, SAP SuccessFactors for HR, and other third-party voice services for business.
A series of features added to Alexa this year make the AI assistant better equipped to enter the workplace, according to Amazon, including the ability to make phone and video calls, plus the incorporation of calendars from Office 365 and Google’s G Suite.